Bumper or stop for cars of underground-cable-railway crossings



(No Mndel.)l

A H. B. POBHLMAN. BUMPER 0R STOP POR GARS OP UNDERGROUND CABLE RAILWAYGROSSINGS.

No. 498,215. Patented`May'2s,189s.

ym/@770A MDF .sefgmmgwilgw m: Noam@ PETERS Co. Neumann, wasmuoron D cUNITED STATES- PATENT A OFFICE.

HENRY EDWARD POEHLMAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

BUMPER OR STOP FOR CARS OF UNDERGROUND-CABLE-RAILWAY CROSSINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,215, dated May 23,1893.

Application filed May 11', 1.892. Serial No. 432,561. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY EDWARD POEHL- MAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bumpersor Stops for Cars of Underground-Cable-Railway Crossings, of which thefollowing is a specification.

In constructing and operating street railways under what is known as theunderground-cable system it is the practice at the present time toprotect the cable of one road from being cut or injured by the car gripon the cable of an intersecting road through carelessness of the gripmanby fixing a rigid, unyielding stop in the form of aheavy rod or bar,commonly termed a bumper, in the cabletube across the path of the gripat some point in advance of the crossing, so that in the event of agripman on the line of the lower cable neglecting to throw o the cableand raise the grip to clear the upper cable While making the crossingthe stop-bar or bumper will presentan unyielding obstacle to the furtherprogress of the grip before the crossingpoint is reached. Thisoperation, however, is attended by considerable danger to the passengersas well as to the man at the grip, and in several cases of a sudden stopby con tact of a grip with the bumper persons riding on the car havebeen seriouslyinjured.

As an improvement on these devices or bumpers my invention has for itsobject to provide astop for cable-crossings that will operate withoutdanger to the occupants of the car; and to such end and purpose Iconstruct and apply substantially in the manner hereinbefore described ayielding stop or bumper at the crossing of two cables in the tunnel orcable-way of the lower cable to protect the other cable which has theright of way.

The nature of this improvement consists in constructing and combining inand with the cable-way at a crossing a stop-bar having a yielding and toa limited extent a sliding movement in the direction in which the griptravels in such a degree that when struck by a grip it will iirst checkthe momentum and then bring the grip gradually and not abruptly to astop before the crossing is reached, as hereinbefore more fullydescribed.

Figure l is la top View or plan of a cable- 'Y crossing with my deviceset in place; the surface of the roadway being represented as partiallybroken away to expose the parts beneath. Fig. 2 is a vertical transversesection at about the line x :n Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of theiron frame-work or skeleton of the road-bed. Fig. 4: is a perspectiveview of the stop bar and a portion of the guide rods upon which the stopbaroperates. Fig. 5 is a front view and Fig. 5 a top view of thestop-bar with a signal bell mounted for operation on it.

In constructing my device I fix within the cable-way or tunnel onopposite sides of the cable and about parallel with it, two long rods AA, and on these rods I set a short heavy rod or bar B, across the tunneleither in position above or below the cable and directly in the path ofthe grip. If set below the cable it should be at such height from thebottom of the tunnel that the foot of the grip shall strike it when thecable is in the jaws of the grip. t Abell or gong BX is fixed on -thecross-bar B, with a tripping lever b2' pivoted on the bar at b3 andprojecting in front to take the iirst contact of the grip-bar; when thecross-bar is struck the lever is pressed back and by tripping the hammerB4 of the gong the same is caused to give warning tothe gripman.

C C are heavy spiral springs on the guiderods in front of the bar B andbearing at one end against the bar, and at the opposite end against afixed point. The ends of the bar are suitably formed to embrace andslide on the guide rods A. The springs C which surround the rods A bearupon the ends of the stop bar and press it against the bracket pieces D,whereby the stop bar is always held in position ready to receive theimpact of the grip-iron, should the gripman fail to throw the grip fromthe cable. The rods A are supported by arms or bracket pieces D fixed tothe yokes or frames of the tunnel, or by any other suitable supportiixed in the tunnel to carry them.

IOO

In place of spiral springs it will be obvious that air or liquidcushions such for example as a piston moving in a liquid cylinder couldbe applied to give a yielding resistance of the bar to the movement ofthe grip at the time of contact. I prefer the construction hereindescribed and shown, however, because of its simplicity and durability.

In practice as the gripper attached to the dummy or car approaches thebumper, should the gripman fail through neglect or carelessness torelease the grip from the cable of his line the grip iron or bar willstrike the crossbar B of the bumper and give the alarm by the contactand this shock will also cause the gong or bell on the cross-bar tosound additional warning and give the gripmau time to release and liftthe grip-bar before the springs of the bumper are compressed to theirfullest capacity.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a cable railway a stop orbumperconsisting of guide rods supportedin suitable bearings, a stop bar on said rods, and a spring for holdingsaid stop bar in position and independent of the cable to receive theimpact of the grip-iron, as set forth.

2. In a cable railway the combination at a cable-crossing of theguide-rods, sliding stop bar movable ou said rods, and springs appliedin front of said stopbar and an alarm bell or gong connected therewith,substantially as described to operate as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand andseal.

HENRY EDWARD POEIILMAN.

Witnesses:

C. W. M. SMITH, CHAs. E. KELLY.

